1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing device in which setting information of an application that runs in a virtual machine environment is shared.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a single operating system (OS) runs on a single information processing device. In some situations, different types of OSs may be used on a single information processing device. These situations include when different OSs are required for clerical work and development work, and when an application or a device that is not designed for a daily use OS needs to be used on another OS.
Meanwhile, a virtual machine environment has been realized, in which a plurality of virtual machines can be operated on a single information processing device. In the virtual machine environment, a plurality of virtual machines runs on a virtualization software program. The virtualization software program virtualizes hardware resources, and performs arbitration and the like for access to the hardware resources of the virtual machines.
A virtualization software program may be implemented directly or indirectly on the hardware. When it is indirectly implemented, a host OS runs on the hardware and serves as an operation basis, while a virtual software program runs on this host OS. The OS that runs on a virtual machine is called a guest OS, as opposed to a host OS.
In such a structure a regular-use OS serves as a host OS, and a guest OS of a different type from the host OS runs on the host OS.
In the virtual machine environment, hardware resources and the like are isolated from one another in accordance with individual virtual machines so that one virtual machine would not affect other virtual machines or the host OS. For example, a hard disk that is used from a virtual machine is actually a disk image file in most cases, and the isolation is established by determining a specific disk image file to be accessible to the corresponding virtual machine only.
Sometimes, data needs to be shared by a certain virtual machine and another virtual machine or the host OS. For example, it is preferable that browsers of the host OS and the guest OS can use the same setting information (preferences), such as a bookmark, which is determined for each user.
JP-A 2008-97201 (KOKAI) discloses a system in which bookmarks and a display history of a browser can be shared by different communication terminals by storing the bookmarks and the display history in a separately prepared server and referring to the bookmarks and the display history in this server.
In the method of JP-A 2008-97201 (KOKAI), however, the bookmarks and the display history need to be explicitly entered and downloaded, and if updates are made on the terminal side, they need to be explicitly re-entered into the server. Thus, there are drawbacks that a dynamically generated file such as a cache cannot be shared and that the latest preferences cannot be shared. Furthermore, because a separate server is required, the system depends on the usage environment.
According to the user's manual of VMware Workstation, “Using Shared Folders”, on pp. 177-184, a technology has been suggested with which information can be shared without a server or the like that is intended for this purpose, by using a shared folder function of VMware virtualization software program. With the shared folder function, any folder (directory) of the host OS can be read directly from the guest OS by mounting it on the guest OS.
With the method of the VMware, however, information is shared not in units of files but in units of folders. This may cause unintended information sharing, and thus lowers the level of security. Furthermore, a driver for processing shared folders needs to be installed in the guest OS, but a shared folder function may not be implemented, depending on the type of the guest OS. The method therefore depends on the usage environment. In addition, sharing may depend the setting of the shared folder function, which lowers convenience for users.
Moreover, some browsers are configured in such a manner that preferences such as bookmarks cannot be used simultaneously with other browsers. Such browsers fail to open if more than one browser tries to look up the same preference file. For this reason, when the method of the VMware is adopted, it still requires a copy of preferences when the browser is opened on the host OS and the guest OS at the same time. This causes a problem that, in the same manner as in JP-A 2008-97201 (KOKAI), the latest preferences may not be shared, depending on the type of the browser.